He said the current forest cover in Machakos is 3.4 per cent instead of 10 per cent.

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“We need to get to 10pc through focused actions. Our aim is for every person domicile in Machakos to plant and take care of a minimum of five trees by December of this year. Our target is to plant a minimum of seven million trees and for five million of the trees to survive by the end of this year 2018.”

He said the target is to plant over 50 million trees in Machakos County by 2022.

“We cannot be struggling to plant and maintain trees while at the same time cutting trees. From today, I am banning tree harvesting/logging in Machakos County for three years, regardless of who has planted them.”

He said special permits from my office will be given to business people who planted trees for business and need to harvest them but no permits will be given in 2018.

He also appealed to well wishers from all over the country to donate to tree seedlings by calling 0748079365, 0748079356 or 0756799995. They can also email trees@machakosgovernment.co.ke